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Colorado State football not Too Shy in victory

Dictating tone was a first for Rams

By Mike Brohard Sports Editor

Posted:
11/12/2012 10:18:42 PM MST

Colorado State linebacker Nu uvali Fa apito celebrates with Max Morgan after Morgan s interception in Saturday s win over UNLV. The Rams defense helped set a tone with two early touchdowns, the first time this season coach Jim McElwain felt his team dictated the action this season.
(Steve Stoner)

FORT COLLINS -- Football coaches are famous for throwing out great comparisons at press conferences all the time, but Colorado State coach Jim McElwain was spot on when he said his was a first.

He was happy with the Rams' win 33-11 win over UNLV on Saturday. Better yet, it was decisive. Topping it off, it was his team that set the tone and saw it through.

That's when his Monday press conference started to get interesting.

"It was huge," McElwain said of the turnaround. "Now, here lies the issue. Consistency in performance, consistency in attention to detail. Is it a one-hit wonder? And I've got a whole list on my iPod that's one-hit wonders. Kajagoogoo. Who has that on their iPod?"

Likely, not many of his players, who weren't born when the band released the song, "Too Shy" in 1983. To add to the moment, he started belting out some of the lyrics

"When was the last press conference somebody threw out too shy, shy to you right there," McElwain asked. "Hush, hush, eye to eye. That kind of stuff is big now.

"Full of useless information right here. One-hit wonders."

Then he came to his real point.

"That's what you can't be. That's not what you want to be," he said, not meaning the haircut sported by lead singer Limahl. "You want to be known for consistent performance."

It's a feeling McElwain is used to, just not around these parts. While the Rams had won two games prior, they didn't notch them with the same tenacity and confidence McElwain saw on the field throughout the night.

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One would expect it from the starters, but even when the Rams started losing players to injury, the younger generation carried it along.

"Even in the first game, we kind of waited for them to throw the blow," McElwain said of the win over Colorado. "That shouldn't be the theme. It can happen that way, in any game. But knowing that we control the way we think, we control our emotions, so let's go. I do believe that was the first time I really felt that, which was good."

Offensive tackle Joe Caprioglio admitted it felt a heck of a lot better than many of the earlier games the team has played in a 3-7 season, a win total that matches that of the past three campaigns with two more on the schedule, starting Saturday at Boise State.

"I mean, you didn't have the doubt in your mind really," Caprioglio said. "There was nothing there. It didn't matter what they did, it was all about what we were going to do, and you knew we were going to do it. There was never even a little bit going, 'what if this happens, or what if that happens.' I think everyone had this faith together that we were going to get it done."

The past three weeks, the offensive line has helped produced a 100-yard rusher. The line said part of that turnaround has been really grasping an understanding of the offense as a whole and the particulars that make it click.

Caprioglio thinks that is bleeding into performance, because a team that isn't thinking is one that plays with confidence.

"I'd like to think so," he said. "Once you kind of have an overall good understanding of what you're doing, you have the ability to just play fast. I think that's kind of where we're starting to reach. It's no longer associating things from the past with now. Now this is our offense, this is what we run, you know the little nuances of everything and you're able to just go out there and play hard."

That's the team McElwain wants to see from here on out, not just here and there. He certainly doesn't want the program to become an obscure reference or late-night filler on cable television.

"I want to be on tour for the rest of my life," he said. "I don't want to be on VHI "Where Are They Now."

Noteworthy -- On a down note, McElwain said both linebacker James Skelton and offensive tackle Jared Biard would be out the final two games with the injuries they sustained in the win. McElwain did say he thinks linebackers Aaron Davis and Shaquil Barrett will play this week, while receiver Thomas Coffman's availability would become clearer Wednesday. ... Upon hearing a local Boise military family had recently received some unfortunate news, Colorado State offensive lineman Mason Hathaway and his roommate, Brandon Haynes, have donated their tickets for Saturday's game to them.

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